January 2012 – Page 3

Building Blog Traffic

This is a do-as-I-say
not a do-as-I-do post
’cause I don’t give a rat’s ass about traffic.

Yes, I like having readers
because whenever
I debate whether
to write
100 words here
or
to write
100 words on a novel,
I look at my traffic numbers
and can justify
my time here at Clientk.

But I don’t actively build any traffic.

I certainly don’t use
James Clear’s five methods to build blog traffic.
1. Start a newsletter list
2. Get the word out with guest posts
3. Brand yourself as an expert through interviews
4. Use social media strategically
and
5. Use the power of search.

However, having built blog traffic
on other sites,
I CAN attest that it works
but, as James states,
“Everyone else talks about this stuff,
but few people actually do it.
Don’t make the mistake of knowing what to,
but failing to execute on it.”

Burnout And The News

I don’t watch the news.
Surprisingly,
I don’t miss much.
I get the bulk of the information
from headlines on the internet
and from discussions with others.

Not watching the news
was a conscious choice.
The majority of news stories
are downers.
I found they
devoured my optimism,
optimism I needed to feed
my creativity.

Mike Michalowicz shares
“In some cases,
burnout is a result of depression.
The constant negativity
perpetuated by news reports,
over time,
gives many people
the false belief that all of life is horrible.
And with that comes
depression and burnout.
Try not watching or reading
the news for 30 days.
It may be the perfect burnout cure.”

Need the optimism necessary
to create?
Don’t watch the news.

Assigning Blame

I was at a party over the holidays
and a dish got broken.
As I asked the hostess
where the broom was
to sweep the broken pieces up,
she asked me
“Who broke the dish?”

My reply?
“Why does it matter
who broke the dish?”

It didn’t.
The person was embarrassed already.
It was an accident.
The incident wouldn’t be repeated.
Assigning blame wouldn’t accomplish
anything except make the person feel even worse.

When I lead projects
and mistakes happen,
I ask myself the same question.
“Does it matter
who made the mistake?”

Almost always
the answer is no
so I don’t attribute the mistake
to anyone.
There’s no upside
vs a downside of possibly
alienating the mistake maker.

Unless necessary,
don’t name the team member
who made the mistake.

Your Boss, Your Mentor, Your Best Friend

One of my buddies
was complaining that
while she respected and learned
from her boss,
she couldn’t ever see
her becoming friends with her boss.

WTH would she want that?

It is challenging,
almost impossible, to mentor your friend.
You often have to tell your protege
the nasty truth.
You look at this person
and her actions critically,
NOT what you want in a friend.

And expecting one person
to fill every role for you
is unrealistic
and unfair to that person.

It is okay
or even preferable
to have different people
serve different purposes for you.

Great bosses and effective mentors
don’t have to be friends.

Selling Your Great Idea

Before pitching a new product
to the entire board,
I always pitch the product
to each board member individually first.

This does a few things.

It allows me to hear and prepare
for push back
before the general presentation.
Having the answers
makes me look like a superstar.

I can customize the pitch
for that board member,
increasing the odds
of a favorable sell in.

Best of all,
I can find at least one project champion
(and if there isn’t a project champion,
I know the product has issues).
This project champion will do
some of my selling for me.

As Tom Searcy states
“Seed the audience with supporters.
If you have decided to present
an idea in a meeting,
preview your idea to
some supporters in advance
to get friendly voices in the discussion.”

It is easier to sell to one person
than a group of people.
Pre-pitch your product ideas.

The Curse Effect

Tom Asacker has a GREAT post
on his predictions for 2012.

One of my favorite sections is
on how the passionate
will not only survive
but they will thrive.

“What’s bugging you?
Whatever it is, for your sake
–and for those unwilling or unable to change–
do something about it!
That’s the key to growth and success.
The inventor David Levy
referred to it
as the curse effect:
“Whenever I hear someone curse,
it’s a sign to invent something.””

What is irritating you?
Does it irritate others?
(This is why I don’t mind
complainers.
They’re great sources of product ideas.)
Can you figure out a solution
and a way to profit from that solution?

Branding Trends For 2012

Tis the season for predictions
and Branding Strategy Insider has
their 12 branding trends for 2012.

One of the trends
book cover artists are currently struggling with
is having art
that looks good both large (on the cover)
and small (on phone screens).

As Branding Strategy Insider shares
“Handheld technology and
smarter-and-smarter smartphones
will increase opportunity for
more mobile monetary transactions.
Brands that do not facilitate
small screen transactions
will find consumers hanging up on them.
Watch for increased credit card
and promotional outreach,
especially if the brand can customize
the small screen experience.”

Do your promotions and ads
look great on both the big screen
AND
the small screen?

(And yes, this is a BIG opportunity
for marketers.
Figure out how to design promotions
that work on both levels
and you’ll be in demand.)

THESE Are The Good Ol’ Days

One of my writing buddies
spent all of 2011
deep in the depths of despair.
She didn’t write.
Instead she worried about
the state of the publishing world,
how no one could build a career,
and
how the days of writing full time were over.

I published 13 short stories
and 4 novellas in 2011.
I’m at the point
where I’m seriously considering
writing year round.

I know writers who made
millions and millions of dollars last year.
Some of my writing buddies
made their first million in income in 2011.

Ten years from now,
I predict that my worry wart friend
will look back
and realize that THESE were the good ol’ days.

Seth Godin has a great post on this topic.

Start that venture NOW.
There’s never been a better time
to realize your dreams.

War Horse And Coming Soon

Recently I saw the movie War Horse.
War Horse was one
of the big movies
of the holiday season.

So I expected big things
from the previews presented
before the movie.
I expected to come out
of the theater
looking forward to an upcoming movie.

I didn’t.

The movies had no relation to War Horse
and they weren’t movies
to appeal to the average movie goer.

That’s unfortunate as
ideally, a theater
should balance
the previews for the smaller movies
(the quick advertising cash)
with
the previews for the blockbusters
(getting bums in seats tomorrow).

Short term success can be heady
but
try to not sacrifice your long term goals
while pursuing it.

Aim For Success

I always have aggressive goals.
When I meet them,
I’m flying.
When I fall short,
I still achieve.

A buddy of mine
is super conservative with her goals.
She always achieves them
BUT she seldom achieves more.
She’s lazy
(like all of us are)
and when she achieves her goals,
she stops working.

That’s one reason why
simply not failing
is a dangerous goal to have.
At best, we don’t fail and that’s it.

Another reason is that
we don’t hear negatives.
Tell yourself “Don’t fail”
and your mind hears “Fail.”
NOT a good message
to tell yourself.

Art Petty has a great article
on other reasons.

Aim for success.